Means for instructing golf strokes



ET AL MEANS FOR INSTRUGTING GOLF STROKES Filed April 9. 1927 INVENTORs /afrj 4MM/wn,

'Patented' 2, UNITED STA rEs PATENT OFFICE. l

MICHAEL J. GIJENNN, OF SUMMIT, AND HARRY G. HIGHAH,- F MURRAY HILL, NEW

JERSEY.

MEANS FOR INSTRUCTING GOLF STROKES.

Applicationl led April 9,

Thisinvention relates, generally, to a device for instructin and training the user m the correct formo making strokes with golf clubs.

5.; The invent-ion has reference, more particularly, to a' simple unitary structure 'adapted to serve as a guide tothe user whereby the latter is' aided to pro rly address a golf ball with a playin clu and caused to-cor- 1U rectly swing the c ub through a proper arc for path of movement to produce correct form in. play, and whereby the user is habituatedto proper muscular movements of the arms and body through which correct form in play is at-tained. To lthis end the novel instruction` device of this invention comprises'a simple unitary structure in the form of a suitable base plate upon which is mounted a pair of laterally spaced guide members positioned to demark or bound the p i which will be'subsequeutly more fully exproper pathl ,of movement to be taken by the golf club when swung tostrike the ball; said guide-members being so shaped as not to interfere with the proper movements of the club, but being calculated to obstruct improper movements thereof; at the same time fsaid-guide`members are preferably made of so that, should they be engaged by the club, the same will not be injured, nor will contact therewith unpleasantly shock or jar the i player. The device is also constructed to provide sighting elements which are calcu- Y lated to train the vision of the pla er infoilowing the path the stroke of the cub should properly describe.` n

Other objects of this invention, not at this time moreparticularly enumerated, will be clearly understoodt from the following de- 40 tailed descriptionof the same.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, iny which Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the novel instruction device of this invention as used by a player; Figure 2 is a plan view of the novel instruction device; Figure f 3 is a transverse section, taken on line 3-3 Mr, inlgnreleand^Figure`4ris "a side elevation lof the novel instruction device. Similar characters of reference are employed in all of the hereinabove described views, to indicate corresponding parts.

As illustrated in thedrawings, the novel' instruction device comprises a flat base member 6. This base member 6 may be of any ing and defining a club-h and 8 is such that they inc 1927. Serial N0. 182,273.

desired eripheral shape but is preferably rectan u ar, and of a length somewhat in excess o its width. The base member 6 may be made of any suitable material, such. as wood, fibre, rubber, etc.

Fixed on said base member soy as to extend rearwardly from the forward end thereof are a pair of upstanding guide shoul ders 7 and 8, the same being laterally spaced apart for a distance somewhat in excess of the length of a golf-club head, thus boundead guideway 9. guide shoulders 7 me outwardly, in their longitudinal dimension or direction, relative to that side or ed e` of the base member which is opposed to t e player when the device is in use, thereby defining a club-head guideway 9 which inclines away from the` layer toward its outer end, all for purposes The arrangement of said plained. Said lguide shoulders 7 and 8 are curved upwardly and outwardly from their lower inner side portions toward their upper outer side portions, as indicated at 10.` The inner end portions of said guide shoulders are also outwardly curved as at 11, to providega" flaring entrance mouth leading into the guidewayQ. The upper face of the base member 5 within the guide-way 9 and midway between the guide shoulders 7 and 8 is provided with sighting 'marks 12', which are preferably in the form of painted or otherwise produced spots of a color sharply contrasting with the color of the base. These sighting marks 12 are spaced apart and are aligned to the proper direct-ion of club head movement through the guideway and between the guide shoulders 7 and 8. The center sighting mark 12 may also serve as a positioning spotV for properly placing or locating the golf ball within the uide-` way 9 Vready to be addressed by the cub of the player. It will be obvious that the sighting marks may take forms other than the circular form shown in the-drawings,and even may be constituted by a continuous line should it be so desired.

Preferably the guide shoulders 7 and 8 are made of molded rubber, which material by reason of its shock absorbing ability is best adapted for the purpose, since should either one or the other of the guide shoulders 7 and 8 be inadvertently struck with the golf club, when the lat-ter is swung by the nio 'i with 'out appreciable injury.

In maklng up my novel instruction device, I may furnish the same with a base of rigid material and guide shoulders of rubber, or,

if desired, the base may alsobe made of rubber, with which the rubber guide shoulders may be combined either as an integral structure or in suitable mechanical -attachment to the base.

In making use of my novel instruction device, the same is placed before the player in the manner illustrated in Figure 1. A golf-ball 13 is spotted or positioned within the guidewa 9, and the player equipped with the gol -club 14Jhavin a suitable clubhead 15. .The player takesv is stance facing that longitudinal side of the base member which willposition the rearward entrance mouth of thel guideway 9 to the players right. When the device and player are thus positioned the guideway 9 will incline in a forward direction, i. e. in a direction corres onding to the direction of movement `of t e club when the latter is swung by the player slightly away from the player, thus compe ing the latter to finish the stroke with the desired. slightly outward movement of the club, and thereby arding the player against committing the ault of ullingl his stroke. In addressing the gol ball, the

' pla er 4is aided in visualizing the proper at of swing' through which the club should e directed both by 'the bounding guide shoulders 7 and 8 and by the sighting marks 12. The player in making the stroke strives to pass the club-head 15 into the guideway 9, intooontactvwith 'the ball 13, and then out of Ythe guideway 9, ywithout ermitting the club to enga esaid guide-shou ders 7 or 8.v 'Should the clu head strike or 'graze either guide shoulder 7 or 8,the player is instantly made aware that the stroke was not properly directedfIf after engaging the ball the players club strikes the guide-shoulder 8 before clearing the guideway, he is instantly made awarefthat he is pulling his stroke. Experiencing' these warnings the layer will l repeatedly practice the stroke with the aid of the instruction devicilmtl he'attains that proficiency which enables him to-successful Y at the beginning or the end of the stroke with either one or the other of said` guide shoulders. Not onlyis my novel instruction strike the ball without contacting either device adapted to serve as' an aidto the user in perfecting his playing stroke, but it also aids him in judgthe proper stance, particularly with re erence tothe4 ce thereof from the ball to be addressed, for if the player takes his stance 'too close to the ball he will notice a tendency to strike th "outlying guide shoulder 7 during the performance of the stroke, and, on.the other hand, should he take his stance tool far from' the ball he will notice a tendency to strike the nearer guide shoulder 8. Warni are thus given which enable the player to etter 'jud e his distance,.and thus easilyacquire Vthe abit of correct stance.

From the brief description of the construction and manner of using our novel instruction device it will be clearly understood that the same provides in a very sim le and unitary form a device well calculate to' aid the user in perfecting golf club strokes. We are aware, however, that some cha es could be made in the above described em diment of our invention without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims, it is therefore intended that all matter contained in'the above description or shown in the accompaying drawings shall be interpretadas illustrativeand. not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim 1. A device for the instruction of golf strokes, comprising a base member, and a pair of laterali spaced longitudinally extendin upstan ing guide shoulders on said base a apted to define a guideway for the free passage .of the head of a properly swung golf-club and within which the ball to be addressed maybe placed, said guide shouldersare made of soft rubber.

3. A golf stroke instruction device as deA fined in claim 1, in which' said guide shoulders are outwardly curved' from their lower inner sides to'their upper outer sides, and in which the inner rearward end portions of the same are laterally and outwardly cur-ved.

.In testimony that we claim themvention set forth above we have hereunto 'set our 'hands this 5th day of April, 1927.

MICHAEL J. GLENNON. HARRY e. marian. 

